Hey Guys, I'd Like Some Advice

[msinglynx]

Hey guys. I’ve met several of you at some point or another. I really love the community oriented activities you frequently organize so I guess I’m hoping you might be able to help or advise me on my own community oriented project.

Basically, a friend and I are interested in developing a small nonprofit and we are looking for a location to host our project. I know you guys get around the city a lot so I’m hoping one of you might spot something similar to what we are looking for and I’d appreciate it a ton if you could let me know (phone number from ads, locations of empty buildings, etc).

The concept is to create a community art space open to the public (including homeless, grannies, kids, artsy college students, whoever). The entrance would be free but everyone who wants to use the space should donate some thing that can be used by someone else to make art (ie found art style art classroom, aka a room full of random junk). There would also be some unique classes offered by a variety of teachers in subjects like art, design, animation, farming, recycling, etc. for a small fee per person. This isn’t exactly gonna to make us rich 😀 so I’m not worried about anyone stealing the idea and if you like the concept I’d love to hear suggestions from you.

So, what we are looking for:
a 2 level building somewhere in Wuhou or Yulin districts, relatively close to Sichuan Uni would be nice (not essential). The Tibetan quarter would also be cool. Ideally the bottom level would already have a shop front (doors, windows, etc. not like a restaurant) and the top floor would have living quarters with 3 bedrooms. The bottom floor would need to be around 200 square feet (my estimate may be super off) or big enough for 2 mid-large size rooms (or one big, long, dividable room) with one bathroom and a wall with fixtures that can be made into a kind of kitchen. Hopefully there would be a yard or patio somewhere attached to this building, or at least enough space to set up an urban garden. It should be in a residential area that is fairly accessible to the public by bus but it doesnt need to be on any main streets.

As far as the quality of the building, we’d like to have decent living space above the art space, with at least simple typical furnishings, and complete kitchen and bathroom. For the art space we are open to just about anything, including potentially, previously abandoned places full of trash. We are willing to tear everything down and restart from bear cement and we have some basic construction knowledge, but we cant do electrical wiring or installing pipes so we really need those to be in good working order. Also, we really need a finished bathroom.

I’m not sure if that’s a lot to ask for in this city but I’m fairly sure it’s doable. We are looking to move around the beginning of January and work on this project all through out spring festival for a march opening so there is plenty of time to find a place but I thought asking for some help wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Our budget for both levels would ideally be around 4000RMB per month (please let me know if I’m being crazy thinking we can get it for that price).

Thanks in advance for your advice or assistance.
Tina

[msinglynx]

Oh, it can be inside a residential complex. To start we will basically be running it as “my house open to the public” to see how it works out and then get the permits as necessary (a Chinese friend is guiding us on that. We are still not sure about whether to register as a non-profit or as a business, since the main part is non profit (actually I am personally absorbing the costs) but it still has some for-profit aspects which will hopefully cover maintenance and expenses at some future time.

[Brendan]

Check your message inbox, just PM’d you.

[Charlie]

Hi Tina,

This sounds like a great project but I think it will be difficult to find a location which meets all of your criteria. Two-level locations with a ground floor shop front are rare in Yulin and Tongzilin and will certainly come at a high price (anywhere with foot traffic will cost a lot). Both of those particular neighborhoods are dominated by mostly residential developments, so an art space would be very convenient for living but I think the cost might be prohibitively high. Brendan has a really nice art studio in a great location for that type of project, I’m sure he’ll be of great help.

You mention 200 square feet for the lower level which is about 18 square meters. Did you mean 200 square meters? If not, that is an extremely tight space. You might want to look at somewhere like the Manhattan building on Renmin Nan Lu in Tongzilin. Units there are two level duplexes and will probably be around 3,000 – 5,000 rmb. It’s a nice place, but it won’t be ground level.

Hope this helps.

[msinglynx]

Hi guys. I’ve been thinking a residential area might be a bit more ideal, so I’m now looking for a first floor apartment in a residential complex. I’ve actually found several for less than 1500 on the first floor but I’m still looking around. thanks for the advice and sorry I didnt respond sooner. I lost the thread.

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